Like every year, I have entered the Goodreads Reading Challenge this year too. I have a feeling I might complete it in 2021 as the sheer madness of staying at home for the entire 2020 and not having to do anything exciting has driven my interest back to books. Not that reading wasn't interesting earlier but I had just started travelling and seeing new places! Then the damn pandemic had to hit and take away all the new experiences with it. Well, I guess now that there is talk of vaccines, may be there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Back to the challenge, I picked up As Time Goes By - by Marie Higgins Clark as my first book this year. Very light read, has dramatic characters, overdramatic story and a plot that gives away the suspense at the beginning! My next book was going to be Anxious People but after watching Denzel Washington's bank robbery movie Inside Man, I am not in the immediate mood for another bank robbery story. So, back to an old favorite, Batman Year One for now (In my list, I include all kinds of books- novels, non-fiction books, comic books, graphic novels, et al).
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Oh by the way, Inside Man? An ok movie. Because 3/4th of the movie is exciting, you would expect the ending to bring in the same zing. Unfortunately, this is where the plot weakens so abruptly. You see Jodie Foster being all too clever, Denzel Washington being really good as usual and surprisingly Clive Owen delivering a decent performance, you think the ending would hit you with an out of the blue twist, but no! It's a regular disappointing Hollywood fair.
At the end of 2020, I did read a good book by Jojo Moyes, The Girl You left Behind. By good I mean, for a book of romance genre, it had a pretty creative story line. It had its moments of overdramatic court scenes (just like in Marie Higgins Clark's book) but the story of Sophie and her Edouard was definitely something. It is a pretty long book but I liked the intricate details, the creativity that has gone into this and the refreshing writing.
Also in the spirit of the title of this post, do watch Death to 2020 on Netflix, a mockumentary in its finest form because 2020 deserves to be mocked at and more! My love for Hugh Grant came back this year with this one and The Undoing (where they have done him really bad with substandard makeup reminiscent of Armie Hammer's from J. Edgar). You also have Cristin Milioti delivering the performance of a lifetime (that breaks her free from her sad turn as the mother on How I Met Your Mother). Like seriously, can she be anymore of a Karen?! Her veins actual pop up in some of the scenes, thats some good acting.
Back to Hugh Grant, Pint bought subscription to Disney Hotstar just to watch The Undoing. Boy was she disappointed. I mean why is Hollywood doling out such shows and movies where things are so good till a certain part but then fail miserably when it comes to delivering a good climax. Its like these stories are fighting to win an Oscar for the most mediocre ending ever! In The Undoing, Nicole Kidman and her noodle hair are the saving grace of an otherwise average show.
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While I continue to read, watch crappy movies and shows, write blog posts about them and keep working, I do look forward to the days when you can walk out, maneuver yourself through this crowded world (crowd, I know, shudder!), wear really nice clothes (I miss nice clothes 😭, damn you pajamas!) and just get some much needed Vitamin D and Vitamin F (F for Friends! I know that wasnt a good one!). I have not cribbed for the entirety of the monster that was 2020 but now I miss the old days too because like everyone else I am getting tired of this cooped at home thing. (I guess I wasn't willing to admit it before because being in denial actually makes you feel like everything's alright for some time💁)
A lifetime of believing that technology has evolved along with humans (to the point where robots can steal your job) and you have 2020! God, that's frustrating. I know I am probably bringing your spirits down too if you are reading this, so let me just wrap this up, ok? Ok. Here's to better days!
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